Since visiting Stockholm some time ago, lot of people that I met there ask me questions about creating strategies relating to Stud poker and Hold’em. This happens not because I am one of the best poker players around, but rather because it’s easy for people to reach me through mail.
The other day, some one asked me to quantify the phrase, “being tight in a poker game”. Initially, I did not pay much heed to the question, but later I pondered it in my mind, and the thought occurred to me that since nothing is definite about poker, then how on earth could questions about the same be so definite. So, I just replied to the person, saying that years back I remember my father telling me while teaching me to drive, “son, you need to press on the gas, but make sure you don’t press too hard”. This probably is the best thing that he could have told me about how to handle the accelerator of the car. If I pressed it too little, then the car would not have moved, or I would have lost the ignition. On the other hand, had I pressed it too hard then chances were I would have knocked down my neighbor’s fence. The same applies to poker. There are certain things that you just can’t be specific or define about in exact numbers.
Now, let’s try relating the concept to poker and betting as far as we can. Consider a game of No-Ante Spread Limit Stud, being played by two players who would only call and never raise. In this case, I would say folding everything but a high pair, that is an Ace with a three flush, or a “J”, a ”Q”, and a “10”, would mean, what I call, being tight. Likewise, when I say being a little loose, then we are talking of a whole bunch of combinations, or possibilities. Take the same game that I was discussing, if we allow the players to play a low or medium pocket pair or a split pair with a high kicker, or a low 3 flushes or 3 straights, we might as well allow the person in the last position to call along, because there is no “A” or “K” to ensure a raise.
If you are new to the game and you are looking for advice, I would suggest you stick to the game and gain the experience. For those of you who have already spent some time in the game, I would say the right approach would not be too tight, but just tight.
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